I am
by Kitty-Death Scythe
Summary: Hitomi's secret. A girl with her eyes and black hair is brought to Gaea to finish what was left undone. Revamp of my previous version
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
A little girl walked with a nurse down the long white hall of the hospital. She wiped away the new tears as the streamed down her cheeks. Her once bright green eyes were now a dull gray.  
The nurse stopped at the nurse's desk and spoke to the woman behind the counter.  
"We need to call the orphanage. This little girl's mother has just past away, and no one knows of any family." She said, motioning to the little raven-haired girl beside her.  
"Alright." The other women said looking at the child sympathetically, "I need her name and the name of her mother."  
"The girls name is Hikaru, Hikaru Kanzaki," the first nurse replied, "and her mother was Hitomi Kanzaki."  
  
That is the prologue. Heheheh...I hope you enjoyed it. Please R&R and I'll post the first chapter before the day's end most likely. Oh...I don't own Escaflowne or any of its characters. I am merely using my ideas to expand on it for you readers. ~Kitty-Death Scythe 


	2. 0 The Fool

Hey yo's. I stopped writing this fic a bit ago, cause I was getting bored of it. But now, I'm into again. So here it is, in all its glory and newness!!! 'I am' with all my grammatical errors corrected! (For the most part). And for any of you who read it before, they would know that the chapters are different now. I have combined some of the shorter chapters to make longer ones, and the chapter names are different as well. Well R&R!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Escaflowne characters. They are all owned by...well you all know. But Hikaru is a product of my own twisted mind. So please do not use her without permission.  
  
Thank you and onward to the story!!!  
  
~*~*~*~*~* Page break  
  
I am  
  
0 The Fool  
  
Divinatory meaning: Adventurous quest. A Choice of possibilities.  
Foolhardiness. Thoughtlessness. Lack of attention to detail. Naiveté. Reverse meaning: Faulty evaluation. Apathy. Lost opportunities. Bad choice.  
  
"You stupid worthless girl!!! No wonder you keep getting sent away!! You don't respect the people who take care of you!!" a man's voice shook the small house.  
"I didn't ask for this!!" a teenage girl yelled back, "I never chose to go with you! They made me!"  
A girl around the age of 15 stood in the messy living room of the old little house. Her bright green eyes flashed with anger and rage. Her black hair hung, greasy at her shoulders. Her face was dirty and her bare legs were covered in bruises. She stood, facing her most recent foster father, ready to fight or run, whichever she found gave her the most chance at little injury.  
"Damn it, Hikaru!" the man yelled, "I can't deal with you anymore!"  
"What do you mean DEAL with me!?" she yelled, "All you ever do is hit me and yell at me! You call that DEALING with me!? You're nothing but a sick loser!"  
The man slapped her across the face, "Shut up you stupid Bitch! The only thing you're good for is hitting!" Picking up the backpack she had packed, he threw her against the wall and punched her in the stomach. Then he threw her out the door and into the street.  
"You're gone, Hikaru. Go wander the streets for a little while. Maybe it'll do you some good." Tossing her bag at her, he slammed the door.  
Hikaru hugged the small bag that held all she owned and the only thing she had left of her mother. It was only her mom's old high school uniform, but it held all her mother's stories and memories. Fighting the tears forcing their way to her eyes, she stood up. Her white shirt was covered in dirt and blood, and her shorts weren't any better.  
"I need to take a shower...and change. Where can I do that?" she calmly asked herself.  
Looking in the direction of her school she made her choice.  
Breaking in shouldn't be hard. And the school showers are really my only choice.  
Trembling slightly from the thought of the school locker room showers, she walked off in her bare feet.  
I am never going back. I'll find somewhere to go. I don't need any of them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Van sat on his bed staring at the pendant in his hand. He hadn't been able to reach Hitomi with his thoughts. It was like she was fighting him and wouldn't let him through. But then...she just wasn't there to reach. He had become over whelmed with fear for the earth girl, but he was unable to confirm his fears, which made everything hundreds of times worse. All he could do was hope and pray that she was all right.  
A knock on Van's door got his attention, and he raised his head as he called for the person to come in.  
When the door opened, it was none other than the pink-haired cat girl, Merle. She bowed her head as she made the reason for her presence known.  
"Van-sama, His majesty Chid of Freid and Sir Allen are here to see you. They said it was important," she seemed proud of herself for being so formal. She had left Van alone after he started acting strange. The hugging and licking had stopped and she was a lot more polite than usual jut to keep him in a good mood.  
It took Van a few seconds to process what Merle had said. When he completely got it he smiled at her.  
"Thanks, Merle. Tell them I'll be down in a few minuets," he then put Hitomi's pendant back around his neck.  
Merle looked at him sadly before closing the door and heading back to Chid and Allen. She hadn't wanted to bother him, but Allen had convinced her it was important. Whatever it was, it had the entire group worried. Dryden had returned to Pallas and requested that Allen go to Fanelia to speak to Van, seeing as how he and Allan got along a lot better than the merchant and the king. He had come from Freid and Chid had already left for Fanelia. Allen had met up with the prince on the way, and they now waited for Van to come hear their news. Because what they had to say concerned Hitomi...and Van would want to know.  
Merle was worried about what Allen was going to say. But then again...how would they know anything about Hitomi when Van-sama is the one that has a connection with her? Could it be that Van-sama's contact with Hitomi had been cut off? Could she be dead? Before she could let her fear take over, she reasoned that Allen would have told her right away if Hitomi was dead.  
Arriving back at the main hall, where Allen and Chid waited for Van, Merle approached Allen and asked him a very serious question.  
"What has happened to Hitomi?" she hid the fear in her voice as best she could. But to no avail, Allen could tell the girl was frightened.  
"Merle, we believe that Hitomi is dead. But the aura of her being still exists. Plaktu's apprentice had a vision that lead us to believe Hitomi has a daughter, and SHE is what is keeping Hitomi's aura on earth."  
Before Merle could find her voice to reply, a voice from behind her shook the entire room. Full of anger and betrayal, and she couldn't bear to listen or turn around to look at his face.  
"NO! YOU'RE WRONG!!! HOTOMI WOULDN'T DO THIS TO ME!!! SHE CAN'T HAVE A DAUGHTER!!"  
Van had arrived and Allen mentally kicked himself for not being more careful. He had meant to prepare Van for the news, but the young king had found out the hard way.  
  
This isn't going to be pretty...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Eeeeewwww!!!" Hikaru squealed as she stepped into the shower, "It's covered in...snot like stuff...." She mumbled as she turned on the water.  
Her earlier fears were confirmed the second the first drop of water hit her back. The school didn't heat their water. At least she didn't have to smell tonight.  
"Oh, crap." she said as she worked the cheap shampoo into her hair. "Where am I going to sleep?"  
She hadn't even thought on that topic. She was trying to avoid it as to not stress herself out. But now she had to think up a solution.  
"Well...I could just walk around and not sleep," she said to herself as she rinsed her hair clean of the watermelon-flavored shampoo.  
No...that shouldn't be an option to me at all...walk around not sleeping? I've done that too often. But what else can I do?  
By the time she had the cream rinse in and out, she had made up her mind to sit on a bench in the park listening to her music for a few hours. After that she could walk around...or sleep in a box in some alley.  
She walked to her locker; dripping wet, and began entering in the combination. After the click of the lock opening reached her ears, she pulled open the door and pulled out her towel.  
She dried herself off and pulled her clothes out of her bag. Only one problem, they were too dirty to wear. So she took her mother's old uniform and began putting it on. Hikaru used her own short-sleeved dress shirt to wear with the brown skirt and school jacket/top. She left the buttons on the jacket undone so the shirt underneath could be seen. The teen sighed as she pulled the skirt up to her waist and zipped and buttoned it. She looked at her gym locker and pulled out her socks and tennis shoes. Putting them on, she closed the locker door and packed her things back into the backpack. "I guess that should do it," Hikaru looked up at the clock in the room. "It's almost ten...hmmm...I should get going before someone figures out I'm here." Finally the girl grabbed the bag and flipped the light switch. Making her way back to the window she smashed in. As she approached her exit, the crunch of the glass under her feet made her remember all the other houses. Remembered all the anger, fighting, blood, tears, smashed furniture, and broken glass.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Maybe you should sit down, Van-sama," Merle spoke to the trembling Van. Trembling from fear and anger, Van slumped to the floor with a completely stupefied look on his face. "I know it seems impossible, Van, but Plaktu's apprentice has never been wrong about his dreams. He never even knew Hitomi, but he had a dream about her. That means that there is some truth to this." Allen tried his best to keep the king with them. He knew that this news would hit the boy hard, and it had. "How can it be possible, Allen? Prince Chid," Van looked at the blonde youth. "Do YOU believe it? Do you think that Hitomi is really gone?" Chid stood, unable to speak any words of comfort to the heart broken king in front of him. He didn't want to upset Van by saying he did believe the words of Plaktu's apprentice, but he didn't want to lie either. "I don't know, Van. I don't know what to think. But we can't let Hitomi's death be out of the question." It can't be...she can't be gone. Tears clouded Van's eyes. But suddenly, a familiar voice cut threw his thoughts. A small hum, that's all it was. But there was no doubt in his mind that it was Hitomi. Not only that, the tune was the song Folken had always hummed. It HAD to be Hitomi. Suddenly Van jumped up from the floor and ran to the nearest window, the others not far behind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hikaru sat on the park wall humming. She had never heard the actual song. Only heard the tune hummed by her mother when she was feeling sad. Her mom had said that the man 'Folken' in her stories had whistled it a lot. It was a song from the Kingdom of Fanelia. "Fanelia...I want to go to Fanelia." Hikaru closed her eyes and continued to hum. Before she knew what was happening, a bright light engulfed her and she was falling through an unfamiliar sky. She was freefalling to a ground covered in stone buildings. The last thing she remembered was a white winged figure flying toward her, and then someone caught her in their strong arms. Who ever he was, his dark brown eyes seemed kind.  
  
End chapter 1  
  
More or less the same as it was. The next chapter is all of the chapters I wrote after this all rolled into one. With a BUNCH of extra at the end. ~Kitty 


	3. I The Magician

Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership to any of the Escaflowne characters or the original story. I am merely a small rodent in the shadow of the creators and will never aspire to their greatness. Don't sue me...I only own some Linkin Park CD's and this computer...I don't have much else.  
  
A/N: Hikaru's voice is the same as Hitomi's. Her eyes are the same as well if you didn't pick that up from the "bright green" thing. She also has the vision power Hitomi had, so she is kind of paranoid sometimes. OH...one more thing, she knows everyone. Her mom told her stories about their adventures and she SAW them. Part of her power.  
  
I am I The Magician: Divinatory meaning- Creativity. Great confidence. Willpower. Translating thought into action. Authority. Control. Skill Reverse Meaning- Weak of will. Concentrating one's energies for a negative purpose. Abuse of power. Lack of skill. Deceit.  
  
Van was sitting in a chair next to the bed in a spare room. The black- haired girl who had fallen from the sky laid there now. "Who do you think she is?" Merle asked quietly. "I think I know exactly who she is," Allen looked at the king, unable to guess what he was thinking. "She is Hitomi's daughter." "No..." Van whispered. "She can't be. It isn't possible." "Look at her clothes, Van, "Allen said angrily. "It isn't just a coincidence. Merle even said the clothes smell like Hitomi." "I think you need to accept the undeniable truth, Van." Chid stood next to the Fanelian ruler. "I know you don't want to think that Hitomi betrayed you, but this girl probably knows what happened and can tell us. There has to be some reason Hitomi had a child." The girl in the bed began to stir. She moaned a little as her eyes slowly opened. She sat up quickly, staring straight ahead at the wall in front of her. Slowly her head turned, her eyes not completely focused. Then she blinked and her eyes met Van's. For the first time since he had heard the possibility Hitomi had a daughter, Van had no doubt that the girl before him was indeed the daughter of his true love. Her eyes were the same green and held the same glow to them. She was who he didn't want to believe she was.  
  
Hikaru looked into the faces of the people around her. They looked familiar to her, but she couldn't remember why. The black hair boy in front of her looked at her like he'd just seen a ghost. "What?" Hikaru was slightly nervous, "Is there something on my face?" The young man jumped when she spoke. "She sounds exactly like her!" he yelled, looking at the tall blonde man behind him. "She sounds exactly like Hitomi!" "I'm not deaf, Van, I realize she sounds like Hitomi," the man replied. He then looked at Hikaru and smiled. "Hello there. I'm Allen Schezar, a knight of Austuria. Please forgive Van for his rudeness." "Van? As in...Van Slanzar de Fanel? The king of Fanelia?!" Hikaru's eyes went gray. "My...wish came true..." "You...you know my name?" Van asked slightly confused. "How is that possible?" the small blonde boy looked at Allen as if he had the answer. The group just stood still staring at each other for a few minuets before Hikaru put her feet on the floor and stood up. "Well, I suppose you want to know who I am, why I'm here, and how I know his name." She pointed at Van. "I can answer two of those questions," she breathed deeply calming all her nerves before she sat down. She then motioned to the others to do the same. "My name is Hikaru Kanzaki. Yes I am the daughter of Hitomi Kanzaki," she said quickly before Merle could ask. "I know all your names because my mother told me stories about all of you and the adventures you had. So I know about Zaibach, Atlantis, Escaflowne, Austuria, Freid, the Draconians, and anything else about this world you throw at me." Hikaru looked at the assembly of people staring at her oddly. "Wait. If your name is Kanzaki...who was your father." Chid looked at Hikaru for an explanation. Damn...she was afraid they'd ask that question. She never told the truth to anyone about her real father. It made them act weird around her. She hated to admit the truth about her dad, but it was impossible to avoid the truth now. They would want to know why Hitomi went and had a kid if she loved Van. "I never knew him," Hikaru said quietly. "I don't think my mother did either." Hikaru regretted the last part. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE DIDN'T KNOW HIM??!!" Van yelled at the top of his lungs. "ARE YOU SAYING SHE WAS A PROS.."  
Van was unable to finish his sentence, due to the chair that had so pleasantly found it's way onto his face via Hikaru.  
"WOULD YOU LISTEN TO THE END!?" she yelled at a volume that even rivaled him. "I'm not done explaining!"  
Everyone had an anime sweat drop on his or her head except Van and Hikaru. They were both glaring daggers at each other hoping that one would give in and look away.  
"So as I was saying...before I was so RUDELY interrupted," Van winced at the tone in her voice. "My mother never knew my father. She...didn't have me by choice. I was...the result of events that were beyond her control," she danced around the word she needed to say to have it all make since. But she hoped they would catch on and not force her to say it. (AN- You guys have it figured out, right? ^-^) Alas, even at her obviousness they continued to look at her for a further explanation. Sighing, she tried to force her voice to speak the word that had been so forbidden by her mind.  
"She...was...r..." she had to say it...there was no way around it. "What I'm trying to say is...she was forced into having intercourse with some creep with a gun."  
They didn't understand completely.  
"She was...um..." Hikaru had hoped ONE of them would catch on and say it, but no sign of that happening. Damn.  
As if aware of her thoughts, Allen put her words together and understood her hesitation.  
"You mean she was raped?" he asked very calmly.  
Everyone gasped at this new development. Van was between relief and anger. Relieved that Hitomi had not had this girl by choice, but angry that someone had even dared to touch her. Merle started crying for her friend and Chid didn't know what to think. It all seemed so impossible.  
No one dared to speak except Van, and we all know he doesn't think before he speaks.  
"So it's not like she WANTED you. I mean your father didn't mean anything, and she probably didn't ever want kids anyway." Van=idiot.  
Hikaru, now crying at his uncaring words, stood up and got in his face.  
"Shut up you HEARTLESS PIG! I heard my mother tell me she loved me from the moment she knew about me regardless of how I came to exist. And I watched her waste away and die because of how my birth affected her body. I was there and you weren't! I already get enough crap from my foster families about how worthless and dirty I am that I don't need any from you! Don't you think I feel guilty? Don't you think I loved my mother? So just shut up you ASS HOLE!!" Hikaru slapped him right across the face, hard. Then, with no regard to the others, she ran out the door and into the hall of the castle. She didn't know where to go...only that she needed to get away. "That is the STUPIDEST thing I have ever heard you utter since the moment I met you." Allen said disgusted. "Don't you EVER think of how your words effect other people?"  
Van merely stood there with his hand over where Hikaru had slapped him. Unable to defend himself, he just grunted and walked after her, hoping that MAYBE he could get her to forgive him. He wanted her to forgive him because, for some unknown reason, he felt something that hadn't been there since Hitomi left.  
"Please forgive me," he said to himself. "I didn't really mean it." But his apology fell unheard. He knew he would have to swallow his pride when he found her and just say it all again.  
  
~Hikaru's POV~  
  
I just kept running. That's all I could think about. And as I ran, his words echoed in my head and raked against my heart, and they drove me foreword. I didn't want to have those thoughts again. Did my mother really love me? Did she leave me on purpose? Then I found myself thinking -- you should just die, you know. Go find a window and jump off the roof. Then you won't hurt anymore... -- That's when I felt the warm tears on my skin again. I was crying. I was in an unfamiliar place and I was lost and scared, not to mention alone. I didn't want to go back to earth though. So my only choices were to stay in this world and try to adapt, or...die. I wasn't going back alive if at all. I wouldn't go back. Then I found what I had wanted. A window. And just to my luck it went right out to the roof. Slowly I climbed out onto the quiet lonely sanctuary and leaned against the outer wall. I closed my eyes and listened. For the first time I could clear my head and listen to the world around me without the cars or the dogs or the yelling getting in my way. "I like it here."  
  
I relaxed against the wall and let my thoughts drift into nothingness. I would have fallen asleep. But that was the moment he decided to make his presence known. "It's pretty, isn't it?" Van's voice cut through my peacefulness. But then I started thinking. And what he said to me only fueled my thinking. I felt like such a selfish jerk and I was suddenly sick to my stomach.  
  
~Normal POV~  
  
Van stood next to Hikaru blushing. He had run after her and had been more than a little surprised when she jumped out onto the roof. But he had followed her and was now resolved to apologize. She deserved that much.  
"I'm really sorry, Hikaru. It's just that I loved Hitomi, and I couldn't believe that she would ever do something like that. I was just relived to hear that she didn't betray me of her own free will. Not that she did. I don't blame her at all, and I don't blame you," he looked down at her and sighed. She didn't seem to be affected by what he had said.  
"I don't hate you or look at you as trash," he continued. "I could never think that about someone who was loved be Hitomi. I guess I was just scared to share her with anyone else...."  
The young king sat down next to the earth girl and looked out at the country before him. As he turned to speak to Hikaru, she sat up away from the wall.  
"Are you still mad?" Van looked at the girl by his side and smiled.  
"Not really. I know I just took it the wrong way, and I thought about how you felt." Hikaru leaned against the wall. "When I thought that I had felt the same way when I found out about my dad...I wasn't mad. How else should you have reacted?" she looked at the kingdom below her. And the wind blew her hair around her shoulders and she started to hum.  
Van closed his eyes and listened to the soft humming of Hikaru's voice. It made him remember Hitomi and his brother Folken.  
"Hitomi taught you that song, didn't she?" he asked without warning.  
"Yes, and I liked it, so I remembered it." Hikaru smiled. "I loved my mother's stories. That was all they were to me though...just stories. But some how, I SAW what she described to me. I saw all that happened," looking at Van she sighed. "I'm still not entirely sure I'm not sleeping in the park and this is just a dream."  
Van laughed, "I think if this were a dream, that slap of yours wouldn't have hurt!"  
Suddenly Hikaru went bright red with embarrassment, "I'm so sorry about that! Are you okay?" she put her hand where she had hit him, it was still slightly red and she looked very guilty. "I was just angry...I didn't mean it."  
Van just sat there completely over whelmed by the proximity of him and the girl. He hadn't expected her to get this close and it was making his head do funny things. Hikaru was obviously oblivious to the king's situation and got nose-to-nose with him and stared right in his eyes.  
"Are you going to answer?" she said quietly and sincerely, no anger tainted her words.  
Van's breathing went irregular and his heart started pumping really fast. He didn't know why he had these feelings for Hikaru. He loved Hitomi, but Hikaru WAS Hitomi's daughter. Maybe....  
Suddenly, before he knew what he was doing, his lips found their way onto Hikaru's and he kissed her.  
Hikaru's eyes went wide with surprise, and for a moment time froze. She didn't know whether to be angry, happy, or disgusted. This was the man...err...boy that her mother loved. Wasn't there something WRONG with that? But that hadn't stopped her from loving him back on earth. It seemed like her mother WANTED her to fall in love with the hero in the stories. Was her mother trying to achieve happiness through her daughter?  
Van pulled back suddenly. Obviously surprised by his actions. For a while, they both just sat there unable to speak.  
"Why did you do that?" Hikaru asked trying hard to contain herself.  
"It's...your fault! You got too close...and well...I don't know!" Van had no explanation. And right after he'd gotten her to forgive him he went and blew it by doing THAT! It was pretty nice though...I wonder what it would be like if she kissed back. NO STOP THINKING LIKE THAT!!! You never even kissed Hitomi, stop messing with her daughter.  
Hikaru was defiantly OFF LIMITS. She was Hitomi's daughter and that meant she needed to be respected. He wasn't going to lay another hand on her. But she's so pretty...her eyes are just like Hitomi's and....STOP!!!  
Hikaru slightly surprised Van, however. She stood up and looked back at the window. Then she calmly said, "We better get back to the others. We don't want them thinking I ripped your heart out," she smiled slightly, almost sadly.  
Van is off limits. I can't get myself into something I know I'll regret. He didn't mean that anyway. He's a man and those kinds of things happen when girls get that close to them. He loves my mother and I'm nothing to him at all. We'll just forget it.  
When Van and Hikaru reached the others, they had moved to one of the meeting halls in the castle. Allen and Chid sat at a table in the middle of the room. Merle sat by the window looking out at the stars. Van took a place near Allen and Hikaru walked to a mirror hanging on the north wall.  
"If she's here, then something might be stirring in Zaibach again," Allen looked at the others very seriously. We should leave for Austuria as soon as possible.  
Hikaru didn't hear anymore. She was more focused on her reflection. God how ugly she was. Tattered shoulder length black hair, bright green eyes, faded bruises all over her legs and face, and her swollen ankle all added to her over all poor appearance. At least in her opinion.  
I want to break it so much. I want to shatter it like every other mirror. Maybe my soul will shatter with it? Maybe I'll cut myself all over and bleed to death? I should just shatter...I'm going to break it; I don't care what the others say.  
Before anyone knew what was going on, the mirror cracked and shattered without Hikaru even touching it. And suddenly she couldn't breathe. Her vision started to fade and everything became shapes, then shadows, and then her world was black. The last thing she heard was Merle's terrified screams and two men calling her name. She couldn't move, she couldn't even feel her body. Everything was dark and all she knew was that is was very cold. --Where am I? -- She thought to herself. Suddenly she began to hurt where her chest should be and a tingling feeling brought her body back to her. Her hand twitched and it hurt her all over. --What the hell is this? -- "HIKARU!!! Wake up!!!" Merle's voice cut through the darkness and brought warmth to her. "Hikaru, please open your eyes!" the tone in Van's voice squeezed her heart and her eyes shot open.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"What a pity...and she was so close to death," a black-cloaked figure sat in a dark room surrounded in paperwork and machines. "Undoubtedly, she is the key to Atlantis...it's true power is inside her heart," a soft chuckle emerged from the corner behind the figure. "Yes," an older voice arose, "Dornkirk failed to find her, but now that we have brought her to Gaea...." "We can finish what Dornkirk started." The first voice finished standing up. Shards of broken glass covered in blood fell from its hands to the floor. "Acerbus, I think you should consider taking Fanelia and force them to hand her over. Killing her isn't a very good move at this point." The older figure removed its hood to reveal a man about the age of 26. The youngest of the three also removed its hood. She stood beside the first and reached for his hand. "I think Diablous is right, big brother. You shouldn't kill Hikaru yet...we need her still," the girl smiled at the boy beside her. Acerbus clenched his hand over his sister's and removed his hood as well. "I think you are very right, Letum. Do you want to go destroy it?" The light brown haired girl smiled and her amber eyes glowed with excitement. "You bet I do!" she giggled and ran out of the room humming. Diablous put his hand on his younger brother's shoulder.  
"You shouldn't encourage that kind of behavior, Acerbus. Father wouldn't like it. He didn't create her for killing."  
Acerbus sighed and brushed Diablous' hand away, "Relax, brother. Dornkirk is dead, and we are the Hyakuei, aren't we? Besides, Letum isn't going to kill anyone, just destroy the city."(A.N.- Hyakuhei means 'all evils' in Japanese, and all these new names are Latin)  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Hikaru! Are you alright?!" Van leaned over her almost on the brink of tears. She started coughing and noticed that Van's hands were inches away from her chest. "You...saved me...just like when you saved my mother...." Hikaru smiled at the young king and he could only blush and quickly move his hands. Allen and Chid gave a sigh of relief and Merle hugged Hikaru happily. "I'm sooo glad that you're alright!" the pink haired cat girl chimed. "I was afraid we'd lost you already!" Hikaru put her arms around Merle to comfort her, "No, Merle, I'm not going to die. At least not yet." Suddenly there was a huge explosion and the entire building shook. "What was that?" Van stood up quickly next to Allen. "No doubt some Zaibach forces coming for Hikaru," he replied. "Your half right," a girl's voice rang through the sound of the aftershock and the group looked over to the now open door. "I'm the only one here!" she smiled and walked slowly towards Hikaru. "My brother wants to speak with you. Come with me to Zaibach quietly and I won't hurt you or anyone else." Hikaru stood up slowly, Van and Allen took up a defensive stance in front of her. "What are you?" Van angrily demanded. "....That isn't very nice! WHAT am I and not WHO am I. Your just assuming that I'm not human," the girl put her hands on her hips. "I kind of assumed you weren't, considering you don't look a day older that 11 and you just caused that explosion and you got past all the guards." Van said annoyed. "Oh well your right. I'm a Hyakuhei, the third one to be precise. And my name is Letum Enma. My older brother Acerbus told me to destroy Fanelia and take Hikaru back to Zaibach." "That isn't going to happen," Allen said drawing his sword. Letum just sort of pouted and sighed. "Fine...I wanted to destroy the city anyway." Then, without warning, Letum disappeared and multiple explosions came from outside. "Not again." Hikaru acted before she knew what she was exactly doing. Quickly grabbing Hitomi's pendant from around Van's neck she shouted, "RAPIO RAPUI RATUM!!" A white light filled the room and the five occupants found themselves in a realm of darkness as they past out.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Van slowly came to and sat up on the soft green grass. He looked to his left and Hikaru was standing in front of what he couldn't believe.  
"ESCAFLOWNE!!!" he yelled jumping up and running to Hikaru.  
"What is it doing here? What did you do?  
"Nescio...." she said almost afraid.  
"What did you say?"  
"I said...I don't know."  
"That isn't what I heard."  
"That's what I said."  
"In some weird language."  
"No..."  
"Yes, just like when you said...um..."  
"Rapio Rapui Ratum."  
"Yeah...what is that and what does it mean?"  
"It's Latin...I don't know what it means." "But you said it." "I don't speak Latin." "Then...how did you?" "I don't know." The two of them stood there looking at each other and then at the looming giant above them.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Sophie!!! Sophie, wake up!" Maeve yelled at her sleeping 13 year-old- sister.  
The 18-year-old blonde princess had been up taking care of her baby brother Tarin for two hours and it was Sophie's turn with him. She stood in her light green dress that came just to her thighs. The simple puffed sleeves accented her shoulders and she wore no shoes or gloves of any kind. Her golden blonde hair was straight and fell to her waste softly. A green ribbon with a gold coin hanging from it was tied around her neck.  
"Sophie!!! If you don't wake up, I'm going to sic Ann on you (pronounced Ah-nn).  
Hearing the threat of being put at the mercy of her youngest sister, Sophie's teal eyes shot open and she rocketed out of bed.  
"I'm up, don't do anything hasty!" Sophie ran to the wardrobe in the corner near the south window.  
Slowly, she opened the trove of royal apparel and chose her plain, short sleeved, black dress. As she pulled it over her head, Maeve walked behind her with a hairbrush.  
"Thank you, nee-sama," she said knowing what Maeve was going to do.  
Sophie finished pulling the dress over herself and her sister began brushing her mouse-blonde hair.  
Maeve had always wondered why Sophie had insisted on leaving her hair this way. It was cut short to the middle of her neck everywhere but a portion in the back, which she often braided, wore in a ponytail, or rapped in a ribbon. Today, Maeve had chosen to braid this silly section of her sister's hair and secure it with a pale blue ribbon she borrowed form Sophie's twin, Eleanor.  
"You stole Elli's ribbon again, didn't you nee-sama?" Sophie chuckled as she looked at her hair.  
"Ever since she cut her hair she hasn't worn it. And you can't wear all black, it's just boring."  
Tying a black ribbon around her neck with a gold circle hanging from it, Sophie just smiled and dashed out the door to Tarin's room. Her shift lasted until noon, and then she and Eleanor were going to the theater to she one of Elli's favorites, 'Call me a Dreamer.' Lily was still to young to be trusted with the baby, and Ann wasn't much older than him herself. So the mother duty had fallen to Maeve, Sophie, and Eleanor since their mother had passed away.  
"I have a feeling something very eventful will happen today," Maeve looked out the window, "Aerials have that kind of sense, of coarse." Her violet eyes half closed, "I wonder if the others are feeling anything out of the ordinary?"  
  
"Nee-chan, Nee-chan, Nee-chan, Nee-chan, Nee-chan, Nee-chan, Nee-chan, Nee- chan, Nee-chan, Nee-chan!!!!" Ann looked at her older sister sitting serenely by the fountain in the castle garden reading.  
Ann's orange/brown hair blew in the wind around her pouty face. She wore a white shirt with a light pink apron style dress over it. Her mid- back length hair was pulled into two braids and she wore black button over shoes. Around her neck was a pink ribbon with a gold coin dangling from it.  
  
"Shhhh....Ann, I just got to the really good part." Eleanor said with stars in her teal eyes.  
Eleanor wore a strapless blue dress that came to her knees. It was fastened in the back with small blue buttons and a string running chris- cross all the way from the top of her back to her waste. Her black boots came to just below her knees and a blue ribbon was around her neck, the gold coin hanging from it glistened and danced in the light and wind. Her mouse blonde hair was cut at mid-neck length and blew in her eyes as she continued to read.  
"Nee-chan!! I want to play!" Ann wined, her light blue eyes brimming with tears.  
Eleanor closed her book and looked at Ann, "Onee-sama is free now, and you can go play with her."  
Ann's eyes suddenly lit up as she started running off, calling Nee- sama, all the way.  
  
Lily stood in the bird sanctuary petting a falcon on her arm. She wore a white tank top and a brown skirt and her black boots came to her ankles. She moved her hands slowly over the bird's feathers and looked sadly at it through clouded navy eyes.  
"Malison, I feel so bad for you." She sighed and began to speak into the bird's feathers. "When did you become such a poet?" Lily turned around quickly, her short, light brown hair covering her eyes before she pushed it back behind her ears. "Tou-chan (a form of 'father' that can be translated as 'daddy')? Why are you down here?" She asked, letting the falcon return to his post on a tree branch. "Is it strange that I want to spend time with my daughter?" The 30-year-old blonde man sat on a bench and motioned Lily to do the same. The 8-year-old girl took her place by her father's side, and he placed his arm around her shoulders. "Our worlds will meet soon, and I want you to be ready." He said calmly. She looked at him with shock showing in her face, "The ground world will meet with ours? But how will they get to Ceres? We're in the sky!" He said nothing, just looked at a gold eagle in the top of a tree in front of him. Lily played with the gold circle hanging from a light brown ribbon around her neck.  
  
~Austuria~  
  
"She brought you and Escaflowne here?" Dryden looked at Van and Allen in disbelief.  
"I know, it happened to me and I hardly believe it myself." The knight looked at the merchant with sweat on his temple.  
"She hasn't said anything since we arrived at the palace," Van said with a twinge of worry in his voice, "I'm going to go check on her."  
With that the king left through a large door down a series of halls.  
"I, fear we may have no choice but to seek the High Priestess of the legendary Aerials." Dryden said after he was sure Van was out of hearing range.  
All faces went grim as he continued.  
"We may have no way of proving whether or not they exists, but I think it is the only way to get true answers."  
"Who are these, 'Aerials?'" Millerna asked. "The Aerials are the last remaining true descendants of Atlantis. They live much like the people of Atlantis did, but they accept they are not gods and have no right to be."  
"They dwell on a flying island known as Ceres that flies above the continent of Asgard. Going there is dangerous and almost impossible."  
Allen cut in, "And there is no way to know if there will actually be anyone there."  
The reality of there being people living in the sky seemed unlikely to the group, but they had talked and searched for any other way and had found none. This was really the only way to find answers.  
"To the land of the Aerials then." Van and Hikaru stood in the door. She looked resolute. "I want to see for myself if they are real, and I want answers."  
  
~Ceres~  
  
The five princesses of the Aerials stood in front of their father. He looked serious and concerned.  
"Those from the ground seek our counsel." He said looking at each of his daughters in turn.  
"I want you, Maeve," he looked at his green clad, eldest daughter. "And you, Sophie," next was his daughter clothed in black that received her fathers attention. "And you, Eleanor," finally, his daughter in blue was addressed. "I want you to go to the ground and guide them here. For 'The Key has Returned Home.'"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Sophie walked beside her sisters as they made their way to the end of the Ceres continent. They were to fly to Austuria and meet with the girl 'Hikaru' there. They had no idea what they were supposed to do after that. Maeve presumed that their father would want they to bring her to Seria in the water realm. The High Priestess was the one who had advised the operation, so it only seemed fit to bring the girl to her.  
"Nee-sama?" Sophie began, looking at her sister. "Don't we have to go through Mak Turruk to get to the water realm? The inhabitants in the under ground city won't be very pleased with our presence."  
The all knew that going through the territory of the ground Vampires would be a bad idea. But the road to the water realm had been closed off long ago. No one WENT there anymore, they only communicated with The High Priestess. But it was important that Hikaru and Seria met face to face.  
The three of them stopped and looked out at the endless sky before them. It was time to leave Ceres for the first time, and they were more than a little nervous.  
"Time to fly." Sophie looked at her sisters and they nodded.  
The princesses jumped off the edge of the floating island together and released their white wings from their backs.  
"RIDE THE WIND!" Elli yelled, laughing.  
And with that they headed to Austuria, the country of the water.  
  
End Chapter 2  
  
Next Chapter: II The High Priestess 


End file.
